Anybody know what kind of hole saw/hole cutter you need to cut through 1mm or 2mm steel (case metal)? Will just a normal one do, or what?
They make holes saws for metal and/or wood. Take a look around where they sell the hole saws for installing door knobs and the like...there are ones for metal doors. Thats your best bet. They are a bit more expensive...but they'll do what you are looking for... Watch the arbor size though... a lot of the larger >2 3/4" will require a 1/2" chuck in your drill
don't pay attention to the brand, but more so the type of hole saw you buy.. next, the mention of the arbor size... the reason why larger hole saws mount on a 1/2" arbor is that they require more torque to work properly, and the 1/2" drill does just that (1/2" drill has more torque than a 3/8" drill)
Make sure to keep the receipt! I bought an 89mm hole saw bit (Said on the package "For Wood and Metal") and promptly tried to window my cdrom. Ended up grinding the teeth down Brought it back to "home despot" and returned it for another. This one cut through the metal in no time. Kinda funky huh? ~Davy
i like my 79mm bi-metal from milwaukee, but i also have a cheap setup from boston harbor tools, that is bi-metal but it goes up to ~120mm and works on my 3/8" chucked drill , but most of the time i use my 1/2" chucked drill press, it is easeyer, i just turn it on, and let it rest on the piece of steel, and let gravity cut through it
Well I have to disagree on this advice.... Looking for tools is alot tougher than most people think. For your holesaw look for three things. Bi Metal, thickness of the blade & Brand. The brand is the most important. Why? because I gaurantee that most people think they know what the good brands are but are actually very wrong. What make a good brand of tool? Qaulity Who makes what? You would be very surprised! Did you know that DeWalt is made by Black & Decker? DeWalt is one of the most sucessful marketing campaigns ever. In 1992 black & Decker's DeWalt had a line up of just 13 products. Black and Decker decided to use the name of a company it had purchased in the 1950's who was famous for making the best radial arm saws. At the same time Black & decker was sueing Makita for illegal trade practices and won. Makita was forced to stop selling any tool in the United States that wasn't made in their Gorgia plant. Meanwhile Black & decker was busy painting all thier old Black & Decker Industrial tools yellow. Well Thier tools are awsome, the general public tried these (new tools) and fell in love. Let the story above be a lesson. If you want a qaulity tool or bit or anything elsa to last and perform in a year just as good as the day you bought it. Ask some one who use that tool for a living. Electricans for he most part only use Greenlee or Millwaukee holesaws. Another good brand is Blumol. FYI: Everybody's favorite tool on here: the Dremel, is owned by Bosch, which also owns Skil which also owns Vermont American who makes the crappiest hole saws & drill bits known to man.
My holesaws are greenlee's (Made by blumol by the way) and they have never dulled, and I have cut NUMEROUS 120mm holes in cases as well as metal fuse boxes... The things are wonderful, but don't push them into the metal, as Dagamore said... let it rest on the metal, a good holesaw will chew it's way through cleanly and quickly... if it starts squeaking, back it up and maybe use some cutting oil to help cool it a bit. usually squeaking is a sign of it seizing up, but that won't happen on most steel cases...
whatever hole saw you use/buy, it makes it alot easier if you use it in a pillar drill instead of trying to do it free hand, well i reckon it does anyway
Can I get a 1/2" chuck for my normal black and decker drill? Its quite an oldie, ill take a pic if neccessary. This is the saw im thinking of getting: http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=09491&id=16987 But I cant find where I have to buy the "Arbor" for it (i assume thats some kind of thing for attacthing it to my drill bit). Does it even need one? The site says "Arbor sold seperately." but doesnt tell you where!
Or should I get this one? http://www.toolsdirectonline.com/ Cheaper, but still, no description of whether it will work with my drill or not!
I would say that those bosch bits are trash. I'm not sure but I think that they are the English version of cheap Vermont Americans. Try the first ones you listed.
